Chile has moved to seek greater control over its lithium industry. The plans, announced by the country’s president Gabriel Boric, fall short of full scale nationalisation, but do envisage majority state-owned partnerships with private companies for the exploitation of lithium deposits. Going forward, the country’s two lithium miners, Chile’s SQM and the US mining giant Albermarle, must negotiate with state-owned copper producer Codelco as regards future state participation in their existing concessions.
Lithium Company Stock Prices
| Lithium Company | Market | Corporate Website | Stock Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albermale | U.S.: NYSE | Click Here | click |
| Allkem Limited | ASX | Click Here | click |
| Advanced Metallurgical Group | AEX | Click Here | click |
| Andrada Mining | AEX | Click Here | click |
| Askari Metals | AEX | Click Here | click |
| Atlantic Lithium Ltd | ASX | Click Here | click |
| Atlantic Lithium Ltd | ASX | Click Here | click |
| Bradda Head Lithium | LSE | Click Here | click |
| Cleantech Lithium | LSE | Click Here | click |
| Core Lithium | ASX | Click Here | click |
| Energiser Holdings | NYQ | Click Here | click |
| Eramet SA | Paris | Click Here | click |
| Euro Manganese Inc | CVE | Click Here | click |
| Ganfeng Lithium Group | HKG | Click Here | click |
| Great Western Mining | ISE | Click Here | click |
| Imerys | Paris | Click Here | click |
| Kodal Minerals | LSE | Click Here | click |
| Liontown Resources Ltd | ASX | Click Here | click |
| Lithium Americas Corp | TOR | Click Here | click |
| Lithium Energy* | ASX | Click Here | click |
| Munters Group | Stockholm | Click Here | click |
| Piedmont Lithium | NAQ | Click Here | click |
| Pilbara Minerals | ASX | Click Here | click |
| Premier African Minerals | AIM | Click Here | click |
| Savannah Resources | LSE | Click Here | click |
| Sigma Lithium | CVE | Click Here | click |
| SQM Chile | US | Click Here | click |
| Tantalex Lithium | DEU | Click Here | click |
| Tianqi Lithium | US | Click Here | click |
| Vulcan Energy Resources | ASX | Click Here | click |
| Zinwald Lithium* | AIM | Click Here | click |
Copyright: Lithium Markets
Lithium Markets: Search For Scale
Logic dictates that mining companies consolidate. In the latest iteration, Australia’s Allkem has announced an all-share merger deal with US rival Livent. The combined business will be worth $10.6bn, making it the third largest player in the lithium space, behind Albemarle and Chile’s SQM. It will have have production capacity of around 250,000 tonnes of lithium, with mines in Argentina, Australia and Canada alongside processing facilities in China, the US and Japan. Lithium spot prices in China have plunged 70 per cent over the past five months on the back of weak EV sector demand.
Africa is sleepy evil/Lithium
China leads the global race to obtain critical minerals. Huayou Cobalt, for example, recently paid $422mn for a lithium mine at Arcadia in Zimbabwe. The company has also made a strategic investment in a mine in Uis, a remote part of Namibia. In the global race for lithium, Africa offers significant advantages to those that are brave enough to take the risks associated with investing there – not least, the fact that development of new mines is typically not hindered by the political and environmental hurdles that are present in other lithium rich countries; such as Chile and Mexico. (the precarious nature of the lithium market was amply demonstrated recently, when Chile’s president Gabriel Boric announced plans to bring the lithium industry under partial state control).
China’s appetite for Lithium is insatiable: the country remains the dominant player in the market for processing the metal into the raw materials for batteries. Out of the blocks early, when it came to Africa, the Chinese are prepared to take risks to uphold their dominant position on the continent. In the past month, shares in London listed lithium developer Kodal Minerals rocketed when it became known that the company had received investment of $110mn from Hainan Mining, a subsidiary of Fosun International Limited, a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company. Kodal is active in West Africal; its flagship project is the Bougouni Lithium project in southern Mali.
Lithium Markets 